England prevailed over India by 31 runs in a tense finish at Edgbaston last week, taking a vital 1-0 lead in the five-Test series. However, wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler believes that the hosts were not at their best in the opening Test and should be more clinical going ahead in the series.
"Even though we won at Edgbaston, there are definitely some areas for us to work on. We were 216-3 in the first innings, with Root and Jonny Bairstow going very well, and we didn't capitalise on that. And then, bowling, we had India 100-5, but allowed them to get up close to our score,” Buttler wrote on Sky Sports.
Jos Buttler recorded the scores of 0 and 1 in the Test series opener. While off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed his wicket in the first innings, he became the victim of fiery Ishant Sharma in the second dig.
"They are a couple of areas we need to brush up on while, individually, I had a very quiet game, so I'm looking to contribute a lot more. I still feel in a good place. I've been in the form of my life this summer, so I'm trying not to let one poor game to affect that. I'll work hard in the nets this week, and I look forward to what is always a special occasion playing at Lord's," he added.
England had dropped Virat Kohli thrice before he went on to score 149 in the first innings. And Buttler is pleased with the fact that Indian captain was made to work hard for his runs.
"It was a brilliant hundred from Kohli in the first innings, but you have to give the bowlers credit too. He really had to battle for all of his runs, and we created some chances which weren't taken. That's something for us to work on this week, trying to be more clinical," Buttler wrote.
Meanwhile, England’s ace all-rounder Stokes has not been picked for the second Test between England and India because of his ongoing affray trial in the Bristol court. And Buttler said it is going to be a "massive miss".
"Stokes is going to be a massive miss at Lord's, but we knew he wasn't going to be involved. And, any time he isn't in the side, it gives the chance to others to try and fill his shoes, just as Sam Curran did at Edgbaston. He has an incredibly bright future ahead of him,” he concluded.
